Browsing by Subject "Environmental education."
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Item ArchaeologEE: an Environmental Education Program for Public Lands Management Agencies and American Indian School Children(2013-05) Reetz, Elizabeth ChristineArchaeology fieldwork can be viewed as a compelling method for delivering lessons in environmental education (EE), because cultural history is important to EE, and archaeology looks through both natural and cultural lenses in an outdoor setting. In addition, ethnic minority communities including American Indians have traditionally been underserved by EE (Zint, 2012), and the perspectives of indigenous communities are often lacking from archaeological reporting. With that in mind, this project was developed to be a resource and guide for archaeologists in Cultural Resource Management at public lands agencies, who typically do not have a background in education, in archaeology and environmental education-based public outreach with indigenous youth in Grades 6-12. The intention of the ArchaeologEE program is twofold. It aims to provide effective EE through archaeology that is intended to enrich the educational experiences of indigenous youth through time spent in nature. It also seeks to offer a way to enhance the professional development of archaeologists through a new approach to public outreach and increased engagement with local indigenous communities.Item The Development of a Technology-Infused 5th-8th Grade Earth Science Curriculum Focusing on Caves(2014-10) Grunwald, Noelle JTraditional interpretive and educational programs within the National Park Service, a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior, have been developed on the principle that when people interact firsthand with the tangible resources found within National Park Service (NPS) sites they come to understand the meanings, concepts, stories, and relationships pertaining to these places better. While a direct physical connection to America's national parks is desired, it is not always feasible. As a result, the NPS has embraced the Internet and the World Wide Web as a valuable and effective tool to reach out and engage visitors, specifically those who may never set foot inside a park's boundaries. Many sites within the national park system are adapting technology to enhance place-based learning in park settings and at a distance (USNPS, 2006). The purpose of this study was to address the current programming needs of the interpretation and education division staff at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota by developing a curriculum that utilized the Internet and educational technology to reach out, engage and provide memorable and meaningful learning experiences regarding caves and karst topography to formal educators and their classrooms. A technology-infused 5th-8th grade earth science curriculum focusing on caves was developed and evaluated by both formal and nonformal educators.Item Educating Adults through Today's Youth: The Status of and Potential for Environmental Education Organizations in MN to offer Opportunities for Children to act as Catalysts of Adult Education(2014-05) Kristenson, Kati AndersEnvironmental education has been around for many years, yet environmental problems still exist. While many environmental education organizations focus their programming on children, it is often not within children’s capabilities to implement the necessary behaviors that will minimize human impact on the environment or alleviate current environmental issues. It is the children’s parents and other community adults that possess such capabilities. Instead of creating more environmental education programs for adults, it has been recommended that organizations use their current programs to not only teach children, but also teach children's parents and adults in the community. This study therefore describes the current extent and potential for environmental education organizations in MN that focus on child environmental education to also provide adult environmental education through the programming offered to children. The results suggest more work could be done in the environmental education field to educate organizations about the potential for children to act as catalysts of adult education as this study found most organizations believe learning is reciprocal between children and adults, but do not often plan for children to share their learning with adults.Item An Evaluation of the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center Education Program Purpose(2011) Bishop, Benjamin PThe North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE, 2010) and Minnesota GreenPrint (2008) recognize that environmental education centers (EEC) play an important role in contributing to the need for environmental education in Minnesota as well as nationally. In order to improve the field of environmental education there is a need to evaluate EECs based on their program goals, outcomes and mission statements (Diamond, 1999; Ernst, Monroe and Simmons, 2000; Wiltz, 2001). This study served as a program evaluation of an EEC in Northeastern Minnesota. Based on set criteria, the field site selected was the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center (WRELC). The WRELC education program mission was evaluated against all four strands of the NAAEE Guidelines for Learning (K-12). Interviews were conducted and supporting written documents collected. Using a purposeful sampling technique, interviewees included administration (Assistant Director and Executive Director), program staff (Director of Naturalist Training and Curriculum Support), and 9-Month Interns (4 Student Naturalists and 2 Apprentice Naturalists). 100% (n=6) of the WRELC staff positions interviewed showed consistent understanding and purpose of Strand 1: Questioning, Analysis and Interpretation Skills and Strand 2: Knowledge of Environmental Processes and Systems being key education program components. 83% (n=6) of WRELC staff positions indicated that Strand 3: Skills for Understanding and Addressing Environmental Issues and Strand 4: Personal and Civic Responsibility were not a part of program purpose. These findings were supported by the WRELC written documents collected including the WRELC curriculum framework and the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center Environmental Educator Literacy Competencies Manual.Item Exploring American and Chinese Urban Youth's Value Orientations toward Human-Nature Relationship(2011) Li, JieMost anthropologists agree that the relationship of a society to its environment is the first and most important challenge to a culture (Chemers & Altman, 1977). What are American and Chinese urban youths’ value orientations toward the human-nature relationship? What are potential differences and similarities among their value orientations that might be useful in future research regarding culture and value orientation toward the human-nature relationship? These two questions guided the research. A self-developed human-nature relationship instrument was administered to American (n=59) and Chinese urban youths (n=51) who live in Minneapolis, the U.S. and Guangzhou, China. The dominant value orientation was examined and the qualitative data analysis provides five typologies of how urban youths’ make sense of the human-nature relationship: 1) Submission; 2) Interdependence; 3) Stewardship; 4) Use; 5) Dominion. While a comparison of the qualitative result suggests Chinese and American youths have different value orientations toward human-nature relationship (interdependence in Chinese youth and stewardship in American youth), the quantitative findings suggest similar value orientation, harmony with nature. This, however, is consisting of qualitative findings as both stewardship and interdependence seem to fit with the “harmony with nature” value orientation. Recommendations for future research are discussed and the implications to environmental education are explored.Item The Wisdom of Uncertainty: Exploring the beliefs of American Indian practitioners on teaching about the Ojibwe in environmental education(2014) Wakely, Andrea MarieThe purpose of this study is to explore the beliefs of America Indian practitioners on teaching about the Ojibwe in a nonformal environmental education setting. The proposed methods of inquiry are semi-structured phenomenological interviews, which according to Marshall and Rossman (1999) involve “the study of lived experiences and the ways we understand those experiences to develop a worldview.”